The Catholic Peace Weekly in the Golden Faith Column, the priest columnist gives us a meditation on the seed planted in the garden of our hearts.
We live in an age of consumption. It seems that everything has become an object of consumption. Even spiritual things are being commercialized and sold. However, we often forget that the consumer culture we enjoy leads to the production of waste. Since the seminary was preparing a retreat for sponsoring members, there was talk of lunch boxes to serve as many as 500 visitors, but due to the waste problem, the school decided to prepare soup and rice themselves. Although it was just soup, kimchi, and radish he hoped the sincerity and love contained within it would warm the hearts of the retreatants.
As we live in an age of consumption, there are times when religion is also considered an object of consumption. However, faith is not an object of consumption, and a church is not a service center. The difference between believers and consumers is that believers are spiritual beings who continually develop and pursue change and growth. In this regard, the ‘parable of the sower’ (see Mark 4:1-9) gives us much to think about.
The sower sowed seeds, and some fell on the road, some on rocky ground, some in thorn-bushes, and some on good ground. This parable can be understood in terms of the various aspects of people, but if we consider Jesus' pedagogical intention, it can also be understood in terms of the various stages of our own lives.
Faith can be said to be the process by which the word of God is sown in people's hearts, sprouts, grows, and bears fruit. However, as we live, we may forget the Word immediately after hearing it, stumble due to tribulation or persecution, or fall into the worries of the world and the temptation of wealth and fall away from faith. However, after going through these times, we may receive the Word anew. Good soil is not something that exists from the beginning, but rather a heart that has become fertile enough to sprout and grow by accepting the Word in the various moments in life.
On the other hand, Jesus' parable also tells us how important the environment is for faith to grow. In order for seeds to sprout, there must be a good combination of temperature and humidity. However, no matter how good the environment is, if the seed is not prepared, it cannot sprout. In order to germinate, seeds must accept moisture and wait for the moisture to penetrate deeply. And finally, you need a moment to open and break yourself. You could say this is the process of dying to yourself.
What is the environment of our lives like? Television, smartphones, consumption and the leisure cultures... some may enrich our lives, but others may prevent the Word from taking root in us. What we most require in order to create an environment for the Word is silence. He recalls seeing the words of Buddhist monk hanging on the wall of a retreat house run by a convent. "In order to become something, we must learn the silence of the seed dying in the ground." Just as a seed breaks itself, sprouts, and takes root, we must also take the time to empty and abandon ourselves in silence, the time to break ourselves.
Jesus adds one last thing: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:9). In order to bear fruit, we must be prepared to listen and become seekers. If you don't find it, you can't make anything your own. On the other hand, the future is open to those who seek, who open their hearts, wait, and prepare for a better life and a better world.
Now let's ask ourselves: Where are we in the clearing of the garden of our hearts?
